Water Privatization

Is Water the 21st Century’s Oil?

The CEO of Nestlé, Paul Brabeck, has said, “Access to water should not be a public right,” and that governments should privatize all water supplies. As Nestlé itself owns more than 70 percent of the world’s bottled water brands and leases or owns spring sites across the U.S., this and other companies continue to push for more corporate control over water – a liquid that has already sparked people-powered uprisings and conflict.

Brabeck doesn’t seem concerned about this. Nestlé Waters has been transporting water from the San Bernadino National Forest using a permit that expired in 1988. In 2013, the company extracted 27 million gallons of water from springs in the area – at the low cost of one expired permit: $524. That same year, it extracted another 51 million gallons from groundwater in the area. In Colorado, despite opposition from nearly 80 percent of Chaffee County’s residents, Nestlé will extract 650 million gallons of Arkansas Valley water by 2020.

A deal struck between Cadiz Inc. and the Metropolitan Water District of California will allow the corporation to sell up to 30,000 acre-feet of water a year to any potential buyer, through publicly owned pipes. So much water has been sucked out of the Colorado River and the Rio Grande, that neither river reaches the sea anymore. 

Bottling deception

The business of bottling water is a uniquely extractive and deceptive industry. Fact after fact can be lined up to tear a hole in the reasoning behind bottled water, yet it continues. A small network of people are behind the greatest PR ruse since the tobacco industry’s hold on the American public 80 years ago – that their “pure” water trumps tap water and is a worthwhile product.

Evian happens to be “naïve” spelled backwards. Even though the company is named after springs in Évian-les-Bains, France, this coincidence perfectly embodies the industry. Unfortunately, consumers have bought into the game, as bottled water is a top drink of choice.

Bottled water companies are thriving – despite piles of damning evidence of the harm they cause. 

Irregular Regulation

A major selling point of bottled water is that once extracted, it is “purified.” However, this is inaccurate. Brands either don’t disclose information about the source of the water, the contamination testing, or if and how the water is purified – transparency doesn’t seem to go beyond the water itself.

Most bottled water is extracted from groundwater, which is typically less vulnerable to contamination than surface water. However, groundwater can still contain naturally high amounts of arsenic, nitrates and radioactive elements, or be susceptible to pollution from human activities like mining, fracking, industrial waste, faulty septic systems, and underground gas or chemical tanks. 

Privatization and Water Don’t Mix

Water privatization leads to job losses. In Indianapolis, between 1994 and 1998, nearly 200 workers were laid off after privatization, putting water quality and service at risk from understaffing.^[27]

Public health is routinely compromised for higher profits. The National Association of Water Companies lobbies Congress and the EPA to prevent the adoption of higher water quality standards.^[12] In Walkerton, Ontario, seven people died and 2,300 others became ill due to an E. coli contamination in the drinking water^[24] – even though the private company contracted to test the water knew about the contamination beforehand.^[12]

Why is Water Privatization Allowed to Continue?

Business has muddied government’s priorities. Corporations in the bottled water business combine corporate “rights” with state permits that allow them to exert ownership over public sources of water. Legislation such as the New Hampshire Groundwater Protection Act, does just this – allowing corporations to effectively drain local aquifers – overriding any local, democratic decision making.

In regard to municipal water systems, corporations often seek to woo municipalities to hand over their water or sewer systems in a long-term contract. Once signed, privatization is difficult to reverse. If a company fails to live up to its end of the deal, proving a breach of contract is a costly and complicated process. Multinational trade agreements give corporations powerful legal recourse. A business can use closed tribunals to challenge the reversal of a privatization.